Delivery Hero, owner of Dubai-based shopping delivery app InstaShop, has launched a venture capital fund to invest in founder-led disruptors of traditional industries.

The delivery giant said the initial value of the fund, named DX Ventures, will be €50 million ($60.77 million) to invest in early stage companies globally in the fields of on-demand services, food technology, sustainable innovation, artificial intelligence, fintech and logistics.

The fund’s managing director Duncan McIntyre said: “Being a family of founders, investing in entrepreneurship is an integral part of Delivery Hero’s journey.

“We understand the opportunities and challenges these startups are facing because we have gone through them ourselves.

“Delivery Hero has built a strong track record of investing in leading technology companies and gained a deep understanding of the global delivery and food industries. We pride ourselves on being able to offer support to founders and the companies we invest in and guide them on their path to lasting success.”

The Berlin-based company, founded in 2011, was listed on the German stock market in 2017. It began acquiring food delivery apps in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Turkey in 2015, including Zomato in 2019, before buying shopping delivery app InstaShop in August 2020 for $360 million.

Dubai-based InstaShop reported an annual profit increase of 330 percent as of the first half of 2020, following a spike in sales from the COVID-19 global pandemic, as consumers shifted from in person shopping to online purchases out of necessity.

InstaShop announced in November 2020 that it was launching ‘micro-fulfilment centres’ to enter the bulk buy market and go head-to-head with pure online players such as Amazon.

(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(Imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

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